Sale at Shamble Ramble Etsy!

Hi everybody! Just wanted to let you know we have a sale on our etsy store for 20% off April 25 - May8th! Go check out our store announcements for more info http://www.shambleramble.etsy.com/

Lessons from Herb Fest

(herb fest set up day 1)

(Yawn...) We're finally back from both Herb Fest and the Spring Craft show in Mechanicsburg and boy are we tired! Two shows in one month! But it was fun and something to learn from! I wanted to get on and blog individually but now that I'm sitting here I figure why not tell a bit about each?

Going for a year to Williams Groove in Dillsburg, PA I figured we'd be quite prepared for events sense both are public spaces and both would be rather unpredicted and while dealing with the public doesn't change their reception and perception does. So primarily this blog is for vendors to help those who're like us rather new to the crafting scene prep, market, and showcase your works.

We all know it can be a challenge sometimes getting people to our booths and to stay. Some customers expect to be left alone, and the mere utterance of a friendly hello, sends them dashing from your table! But then others expect the hello and enjoy knowing the vendor notices them. While there isn't too much I can say on your greeting I always say a warm and welcoming Hi or good day to all who take the time to stop by our booth even if it doesn't always give me the desired Q and A response.

Know you product! And tell your customers! We found the more engaged we were, the more those truly curious customers wanted to know! We'd notice some one looking at a particular piece and I'd approach and say, " That item is made from...." and beging telling them about the materials was it a unique bead design? Was it made from vintage findings? Sometimes I'll even begin with, " That was a fun piece to make," and usually the next response I get is, " You hand make all this?" and when we say yes most customers are pleasantly surprised! I'm still trying to figure out if this is good or bad but they seem happy, so I am too!


Be informative and friendly to everyone! Customers who're passing by and praising your work are another group to try and start up a conversation with even if they won't buy, you can maybe get them to take a card and check you out online at your Etsy or other online store!

Keep your customers in the know! Now here's a prior tip I heard about and just started doing an emailing list customers who we engaged on the topic loved the idea and with every new sign up I found myself becoming very happy to have a reach out in place to all those who took the time to sign up! We plan to do this monthly and maybe a little more to let them be the first in the know on discounts, promos, giveaways, shows we're attending, and new products added to the store!

Don't eat at your booth if possible! This for me is a pull over from my retail days you'd never eat on the floor in the public eye even if you're neat and tidy. As your hands touch everything a customer seeing you eat may not stop by they may not want to disturb you but they also may not want you're, once on food hands, touching something they may be wearing! So step away, find the cafeteria, or your car and enjoy a quite work free meal!

Check and recheck your pack list! You don't want to leave a single thing behind if you're away from your work space so bring that tape, thread, pins, bottled water, band aids, repair kits, jewelry tools, ect! My list was so long and I took a week to be extra sure! You never know if you or your neighbors may need those little extras!

Get to know your neighbors! Sure I'm reminded a bit of Mr. Rogers when I say this but its true not only can your neighbors watch your table if you're a solo vendor, but they can give you tips and if you need it small supplies like tape, paper, or pins and sense you packed these things too you can always reciprocate. They can also keep you company between tidying up your booth and waiting for customers to arrive.

Tidy those tables! A hold over from retail, we always had to fix the products, make sure items where straight, and accessories displayed properly all day long and I'm constantly making sure how I placed my pieces in the day is how they stay inbetween customers dropping by and handling them!

Keep signs visible. I printed all the signage days before going and put them on my demo table in my home to make sure all signs worked, were visible, and clear for any passerbyers.

Dress for success! Wear event appropriate clothing going to a park craft show? Wearing Sweet Lolita while cute and frilly may not attract customers to your works they may just stop to check out your dress detracting from your creations! And if you are a jewelry vendor like us, show your pride and confidence by wearing what you make! Make earrings, necklace, or bracelet for your event wear it and show it off so customers know you aren't scared of what you make and they can have that confidence too.

Experiment w/ layout. Especially if it's a multi-day event. At herb fest day one we placed our gypsy fabric in a triangle right in the center. We had lookers, compliments, but we noticed customers had to really look at what was on the high patterned fabric it was pretty, but it made it hard to see the design without picking that item up.

Herb fest day 1 layout

Herb fest day 2

We decided to move our gypsy fabric over and let the creme tone of the cloth below showcase our works for us! We found this layout got more attention then our last.

Shamble Ramble's going to Mech. Spring Craft show!

Shamble Ramble is very exited to announce we're attending the Wesley United Methodist Church's Spring Craft show in Mechancisburg PA! Located at 203 S. Filbert St


The spring craft show will be held Saturday,April 16th from 8am - 2pm. There will be varied types of craft vendors on site the event will be held indoors and if the weather permits the organizers want to do outside to!

We will be bringing our jewelry with new designs from rock based, vintage, steampunk, and more! We also plan to bring some of our home decor as well! It's going to be an exiting day and if you can make it we hope to see you there!


Also new to Shamble Ramble is we're starting an email information list. This list will keep those signed up with us apprised of what Shamble Ramble is doing as far as craft shows, early notification of sales, the blog, and of blog giveaways! We promise to try to tell you as much as we can in one email rather then sending you 80 billion! If this sounds like fun or you'd be interested in signing up just email us at:

shambleramble@yahoo.com

and say add me to the list!

The email that sends us this request will be what we put into our database! We hope to have our readers sign up with us so we can keep in touch with you more often!

Mesquite Grilled Chicken Yummy!

Who doesn't love to grill? The smell of smoke steaming from your choice of fuel, being outdoors in the fresh warm air? Well I love it or at least I love to have my brother in law grilling for us! Yes that's right he's a professional! But one new summer favorite we found is Mesquite Chicken! The flavor is absolutely wonderful it's sweet and sticky and in our case feeds an army which is 6 plus in our case!

Take:

3packs of Grill Mates Mesquite Marinade
1/2 Fresh squeezed lime
5 - 6 heaping yes that's right heaping tbs of brown sugar (Nicole came up w/ this measurement!)
1 - 2 packs of chicken legs (depending on your armies size and stomachs!)

Combine all ingredients into a bowl marinate chicken generously and chill in refrigerator for at least 30 mins then take out side grill until done! It's simple, not too much clean up kitchen wise, and taste fantastic!

New add ons

Ok So I haven't typed here for a bit, but I just wanted to let everyone know you now have the ability to comment in our Tutorials, and Getting down to business sections! Comments in these areas will help us make an even more fun and inspirational blog for all users!

We're going to Herb Fest!

We're exited to announce that we're taking Shamble Ramble to the Herb and Garden Festival located in York, PA in the York Expo Center!

We're very happy as this is our first craft show! We'll be taking brand new jewelry concepts that we've been working on all month! We'll also be selling home accent decor as well so if you plan on coming into York or live in PA and can come by the Expo Center the festival is a wonderful 2day event starting April 8 running from Noon - 7pm and April 9th running 9am - 4pm. According to their site discounted admission fee is $5 and children under 12 years old are free! It'll be fun and we hope to see you there!

Refining the Moment blog feature!

It's always great to be able to do the thing you love the most. It's alittle sweeter when someone gives a compliment and nothing is more of a compliment and an honor then being featured on a blog. Bloggers today are thought of as the up and comming source for all things news, fashion, and resource wise. Bloggers are being depended on more and more to give their unique views on a variety of subjects and today we're very happy to announce the blogger Marry of Refining the Moment has taken her time and passion and given Shamble Ramble a bit of spot light.

In the past Mary has done Friday favorites, where she details to her readers her favorite items ( http://refiningthemoment.blogspot.com/2011/03/friday-finds-new-blossoms.html ). Now looking to get back into the habit of making Fridays once again the favorite day Marry has come up with a blossom theme treat to get her readers thinking if not just excited about spring.

Warm weather, flowers in bloom, and clear skies are just a few of my favorite things of spring. Also getting back out to market is another. We love going to various flea markets around our area sometimes to sell, other times to browse and buy. The walking is not only good, but the person to person interaction is what me and my sister love most. Being cooped up in wintry PA there isn't too much face time one can give when it's blistering cold so the spring and summer months are long awaited treat so we can get back to interconnecting with those around us.

So our dear readers and new to the our blog seeres please take a moment to stop in and see Mary's blog at: http://refiningthemoment.blogspot.com/2011/03/friday-finds-new-blossoms.html and check out her post to discover what other fun favs she has to offer!

New arrivals to the tutorial section!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to give a post to let you know we've got a fun new tutorial up! It's so sweet and cute go check it out and get some inspiration for more! Oh and sense I said last post how I never took that photo of the tree I made my sister well, here it is!

It's alive!

So for my birthday I decide to take our second store and make it be alive! Now we have two stores! We couldn't pass up the opportunity to sell in a second venue and reach a wider audience who may not be familiar with etsy and when we found jewelry wonder we couldn't resist giving it a go. The JW site will sell more of our unique pieces and will also sell jewelry, sewing, and other supplies as we find them sometimes me and my sister find wonderful things that we just can't use but at the same time just can't say no to so JW will be selling these unique treasures to those creative people who would give them a happy home and purpose with in their own collections! Our proud new site is: http://www.jewelrywonder.com/shambleramble

We will still always update and stay with our Shamble Ramble site on Etsy but JW is giving us new range of people to meet so we can share our creativity with more onliners with both sites!

The snow is melting!

I love the fact my yard is clear of snow! Sure it's yellow, sure its nearly dead, but it's a lawn! And that means spring is finally on it's way! I don't know about you but I can't wait for market! I can't wait to be in the air, amongst the crowds, and ogling over the neatest trinkets! Winter was fun with the ice glazing over the fallen snow but I'm ready to move out into the green open world once more!

But I must confess being trapped in one's studio has it's advantages! I've been beading up a storm and sewing too! More then one woman should I'm sure! My sisters beginning to think it's an obsession on my part but it's a great way to pass the winter bye and keep my mind thinking spring! I've updated our getting down to business section with lovely treats for spring.

I've also made Nicole a unique spring time gift one that isn't Easter related but screams spring! I recently learned how to make a tree decor! Using a beautiful cup, and various crafting supplies I created a blooming tree and lush green base! She loved it and I want to make more for around the house to brighten up the place perhaps if I remember the camera this time I can get a brand new tutorial up!

Another exiting adventure we're in the process of opening up a new store! We plan to not only sell jewelry but also crafting supplies as well! Me or Nicole will post the site once its all ready! So far to say it's in the oven!